Danchuk Manufacturing 1956 Chevy - Birth Of A '56

Part IV: Brick By Brick

Just as Rome was not built in a day, neither was the Danchuk '56, which explains why we're already on Part Four! We're rounding down the homestretch. What started as a decent '56 Chevy has been transformed into a restoration with all the T's crossed and I's dotted. If you remember in the beginning, Danchuk took their showroom/R&D '56 drop-top and blew it apart. Then, they took it to Huntington Beach Bodyworks and had Rich and Willie metal-finish the body (Danchuk even flew Willie in from New Zealand). HBB then went on to paint the '56 Tropical Turquoise and India Ivory. While the sheetmetal was at one shop, the engine and trans were sent up north to Chuck Smith Performance Services, where they received the royal treatment. As for the chassis, Danchuk did an in-house job on restoring it.

With each task finished, all that is left to do is drive it home. The body and body parts are at HBB, where they have just been finished being rubbed out and are ready to be put on. Danchuk figured it would be easier to bring the rolling chassis with motor and trans to HBB than to transport the pieces 30 miles to their place of business. With the van loaded up with the chassis and several employees ready to work, they headed out to piece the car together. Once at HBB, the Danchuk crew teamed up with the HBB crew and took the time to build the '56, brick by brick. The team finished everything but the interior and wiring. Once the '56 was pieced back together, Danchuk loaded it up and took off. Back at the homebase, Danhuck is going to wire the car and finish up any minor details. The '56 will then undergo one more operation when the interior and convertible top are installed.

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MORE PHOTOS

Before any assembly occurred, the crew did a once-over to make sure everything on the chassis was in place and installed correctly.

While some members double-checked to make sure everything was ready to go, Rich of HBB lifted the '56 body up on the lift and prepped it to drop down on the frame.

Next up was to roll the assembled chassis under the lift and into place.

The body was then lowered down onto the chassis. The crew was extra careful at this point to make sure nothing was damaged or scratched. After all, Danchuk wants the '56 to be as perfect as possible.

With the body bolted down, it was time to start hanging the doors, hood, trunk, etc. Before the doors could be hung, the weatherstripping was secured in place.

With the weatherstripping installed, the doors were hung and aligned.

Door handles, locks, and the rest of the door's innards were installed.

The good thing about owning Danchuk is that all you have to do is walk back to the stock room and grab parts off the shelf. When necessary, new Danchuk parts were used in the restoration. In this case, a Danchuk trunk latch was needed.

With the latch installed, the decklid was installed and aligned to insure proper fit and function.

Other parts pulled from the neverending Danchuk stock are these stainless trim pieces.

Before the fenders were hung, the stainless trim was installed over the glass-like Tropical Turquoise and India Ivory paint job.

Before the front end was pieced together, the core support was mounted.

One of the '56's trademarks is its turn signals. Once the fenders were hung and aligned, the turns signals were installed.

Next up-the front filler panel.

With the filler panel in place, it was time to install the grille and bumper.

The last things to be fitted were the hood and headlights. Once the hood was fitted, they closed it down, completing another chapter in the '56 build.

The '56 is on its way to Danchuk's headquarters where it will be finished up!

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